As chronic, degenerative diseases have replaced infectious diseases as the major threat to health, attention has increasingly focused on ways to encourage prevention health care practices. The effectiveness of educational materials or physician-patient communications intended to promote good health habits is likely to be greater if guided by research and theory on persuasive communication. A large body of social psychological research indicates that vivid, concrete information, such as information presented in the form of a case history, is more persuasive than comparable information presented in the form of baserates or statistical summaries. To date, however, no studies have investigated the effects of these different types of information in a medical context. Four interrelated pilot studies are proposed that extend previous research by examining the effects of different types of persuasive appeals on the health-related attitudes and behaviors of low income middle-aged and older adults. Three studies experimentally investigate the effects of different types of persuasive messages in these two age groups. The fourth study seeks to identify characteristics of the persuasive information routinely communicated by physicians to their patients. The proposed pilot research would provide the foundation for a larger-scale program of research by a new investigator on the effects of persuasive materials on health beliefs and practices. The pilot studies would also provide a basis for future research on the effects of different types of information on specific patient groups, such as hypertensives or late-onset diabetics.